Saddleback Challenge Report 9/1

2nd Overall


Headed northwest to Rangeley on Labor Day to attend this event for the first time. For the past 2 years I have attended the Green Mountain Stage Race which conflicted with this event. But after 2 years of bad luck in VT and my not wanting to shell out a lot of $ to be dissappointed again, I chose to stay close to home for the long weekend and hit the dirt instead. And I'm glad I did. On Sunday, I spent an awesome day with the fam. First we played Monopoly in the morning, then I got my pre-race ride in while the boys went with Babs to do self-portraits in the art room, then we had lunch together and I took the kids down to watch the turf field construction, followed by an hour of ice hockey. To finish the day, we all put the Waverunner in Torsey Pond and did a bit of tubing and fishing. Doesn't get much better than that!

I went solo to the race on Monday as the course was a unique "lollipop" loop. Meaning, there was a 3/4 mile straight from the start/finish that intersected with a 5 mile circuit that we would navigate 4 times before returning to the finish down the straightaway. Not exactly fan-friendly!



I was expecting French Freye to attend as we continue our race to the Master of Mud crowning. But as I headed to the yurt to register


I was pleasantly surprised to see Racin' Rick and Mike Hartley steathily dressing for a pre-ride!

We posed for a pre-race pic and wondered why everyone else had bikes and helmets

Rick brought his rigid singlespeed 29'er and was looking forward to just going out and having fun. Mike had a bummer of a day as he was walking an injured bike on the first lap, day over.

At the start I led about halfway down the straight, then pulled over to let someone else break the wind. Andrew laid down a quick attack but I was lucky to be able to respond and we immediately put some distance between us and the rest of the field. We stuck together 90% of the first lap. He made a couple of accelerations, but I reacted each time despite the toll it was probably taking on me. We hit a muddy section about 3/4 through the lap and it was a debate to run or ride. I did a little of both and Andrew got away a bit. It was ill-timed as the next singletrack section was semi-techy and my unfamiliarity of the course slowed me down. Yet when we emerged at the feed station and headed into our 2nd lap we were together again. This lap dictated the finish. I must have been in need of a break both mentally and physically as Andrew slowly slipped away without any reaction from me. I must have felt I would regroup but never did. When he was out of sight, I definitely slowed to my pace and he began to build his lead. I saw him once at the top of a long climb, but that was the end of it. He ended up finishing 70 seconds ahead.

I really enjoyed the course. It was fast, totally rideable save for the muddy section, and a great mix of a few short climbs, twisty singletrack, cool but potentially dangerous bridges apparently built by these folks,



open areas that kept you on your toes,


and slalom descents. I already look forward to returning to the event next year.


I enjoyed a nice bath in a creek and chose this unique prize to keep my memories of racing in Rangeley fresh:



I start coaching the KHS mountain bike team this week as we prepare to compete in the ME high school series.

Next up for me is the GrillZ which will determine the Master of Mud winner.